Put a toy chicken on your head to boost your toddler’s development

Telling a child that a toy chicken is a hat may actually help with their development, according to studies from the University of Sheffield.

The researchers studied 25 and 40 sixteen- to twenty-four-month-old children in the two respective studies, in an attempt to determine if and how children distinguish joking and pretending from one another.

In the first study, parents were asked to joke and pretend with their children using actions—like joke by putting food on their head or pretending to wash their hands without using soap or water. In the second, the parents were asked to do both things verbally, like by pretending a block was a horse or saying a toy chicken was a hat.

By studying these interactions, the researchers determined that parents themselves offer explicit cues to children that help them to distinguish between pretending and joking, and children as young as 16 months can pick up on these cues.

Play an important aspect of development

These cues involved the parents showing more disbelief when they were joking than when they were pretending, and the children responded with less belief as well. The study found that by understanding this difference, children are allowed more opportunities to learn, imagine, bond, and think in abstract ways.

“The study shows just how important play is to children’s development. Parents who pretend and joke with their children offer cues to distinguish the difference between the two and toddlers take advantage of these cues to perform. For example, if a parent said something like, ‘That’s not really a hat!’ children would realise it was a joke, and not real, and would avoid putting the toy chicken on their head. But if parents were pretending that, for example, a block was a horse, they might repeatedly make the block gallop, which would encourage children to do the same, and understand that the block really was a horse in their imagination,” Dr. Elena Hoicka, co-author, said in a press release.

She added: “The research reveals the process in which toddlers learn to distinguish joking and pretending.

“Knowing how to joke is good for maintaining relationships, thinking outside the box, and enjoying life. Pretending helps children to practice new skills and learn new information.”

“So while parents may feel a bit daft putting a toy chicken on their head they can at least console themselves with the knowledge that they are helping their children develop important skills for life.”

The studies were published in the journal Cognitive Science.

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